After moving to Charlotte, it’s been raining and flooding here all summer. It reminds me of 1993 when I moved to St. Louis, and they had their 100-year flood.
All I ever hear from everyone is that this isn’t normal weather for Charlotte. It begs the question of whether any weather is normal. [I'll avoid going down the global warming path here.]
So, I found it interesting that there was a recent article says that this will essentially be part of a new normal which will be more weather extremes. Drought. Flooding. Hurricanes. Extreme Heat.
So, what does this have to do with health? A lot.
When these extreme weather scenarios come up, people are less likely to leave the house. Kids don’t go outside and play. And, as you can see on the CDC website, they’re focused on analyzing these trends to understand the impact. On the NC HHS site, here’s what it says about this weather change.
“Some of the health impacts of climate change may include illness, injuries or deaths due to heat, air pollution, extreme weather, and water-borne pathogens.”
Weather has an impact. Just look at SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Or, just think about childhood obesity. Our kids are supposed to get 60 minutes of activity a day. While we assume that happens with sports, it doesn’t always as I blogged about before. With many of them over-scheduled to begin with and schools dropping recess, weather may be the last straw. As recent research shows, a structured recess program is important for academic success.
Some days, I think our kids work harder then us parents. Let’s look at a kid playing a serious sport.
7:50-2:55 school for 5 days a week
1-2 hours of homework per day
2 hours of sports practice 5 days a week
Homework on the weekend
Games / tournaments on the weekend
Now, add a second sport which many kids do. Or a part-time job as they get older. (I know I’m getting off on a tangent, but it’s been so long since I’ve had time to blog…I need to get back into a pattern.)
Filed under: Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Value Propositions 
